Comparision between porcelain and silicone rubber for

use as outdoor insulation on high voltage bushings

Product information

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Contents

2750 515-136 en

Introduction ____________________________________________

Hydrophobicity __________________________________________

Leakage currents ________________________________________

Lightweight _____________________________________________

Maintenance free ________________________________________

Non-shattering material ___________________________________

Self extinguishing ________________________________________

Summary ______________________________________________

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1 Introduction

1 Introduction
ABB Components AB has been manufacturing bushings with porcelain as the main
outdoor insulation since the beginning of this century. Silicone rubber has been in use as
outdoor insulation for suspension insulators and in other applications for more than 25
years. Today, silicone rubber together with EP- rubbers are the most used polymeric
materials for medium and high voltage outdoor insulation. The silicone rubber used by
ABB for high voltage equipment is made of a specially formulated HTV, High Temperature Vulcanising, silicone rubber which has several advantages compared to porcelain.
Below follows a list with the most important properties for outdoor insulation and a
short comparison between the characteristics of ABB silicone rubber and porcelain both
as materials and as an integral part of the bushing.

2 Hydrophobicity
The surface of SIR maintains a high level of hydrophobicity even during severe
environmental conditions. If the hydrophobicity of the surface is decreased, the surface
will recover its hydrophobic properties in less than 12 hours since the SIR continuously
emits molecules of silicone oil to the surface. The layer of silicone oil is only a few
molecules thick and provides the hydrophobic properties of the surface. The
hydrophobicity of porcelain on the other hand is reduced already after a few days with
medium severe pollution levels and will not recover unless the surface is cleaned. The
design criteria for porcelain insulators according to standards is 31 mm/ kV at severe
pollution levels. In order to fulfil the standard requirements, the same design criteria for
specific creepage distance for SIR insulators as for porcelain is used which provides an
even more robust design regarding the limitation of leakage currents.

3 Leakage currents
Thanks to the improved performance during and after severe environmental conditions
with ABB SIR, the leakage current level along the insulator is very low compared to
porcelain. A typical value for porcelain is 10 mA and for silicone < 1 mA. This property
also reduces the risk for flash-overs and thus increases the reliability of the product and
eliminates the disturbances in the power grid resulting from such events.

4 Lightweight
The density of ABB SIR is 1530 kg/m3 and 2500 kg/m3 of porcelain. The electrical
insulation inside the SIR is made of resin impregnated paper. The high mechanical
strength of the insulation material supports the SIR, which need to be just 5 mm thick
with the exception of the sheds. Thus the weight of the GSA bushings is reduced to
approximately half of its equivalent oil impregnated bushings with porcelain as outdoor
insulation. With a more light weight design, the ability to withstand earthquakes is
increased as well.

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5 Maintenance free

5 Maintenance free
The need for cleaning the insulator is almost eliminated when using ABB SIR. Porcelain
on the other hand might have to be cleaned more often in medium polluted areas as
well. SIR may need to be cleaned but only in extreme environmental conditions.

6 Non-shattering material
The ABB SIR material has a non shattering failure mode if subjected to vandalism,
mechanical shocks etc. The GSA bushings with ABB SIR insulators are well suited for
applications where vandalism by for example stone or brick throwing can be expected.
The risk for transport damage is almost eliminated as well. The safety of personnel is
increased due to the non shattering material in the case of an unexpected failure on site.

7 Self extinguishing
Silicone rubber is proved to be self extinguishing even if a test sample is held vertically
over an open flame. With this feature the bushing with its ABB SIR insulator will not
cause fire, not even maintain or develop a fire. Porcelain will of course not burn but it
can explode or crack by extensive heating from fire sources and consequently increase
the fire when the oil is let out from the bushing.

8 Summary
The advantages of ABB SIR compared to porcelain described above are unique to ABB
SIR and are not valid for other polymeric materials like EP-rubbers or epoxy. The GSA
bushings and the ABB SIR are thoroughly tested according to relevant standards and the
outdoor SIR insulators have proven their good performance during long time testing at
test stations in severe environmental conditions.

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2750 515-136 en

2750 515-136 en, 1998-03-30

ABB Power Technology Products AB

Components
Visiting address: Lyviksvgen 10
Postal address: SE-771 80 Ludvika, SWEDEN
Tel.+46 240 78 20 00
Fax +46 240 121 57
E-mail: sales@se.abb.com
www.abb.com